Turkey is interested in producing the Russian coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V. After the phone call between two ministers, the Russian side confirmed it.
Russian Health Minister confirmed that Turkey will produce Sputnik V at the domestics level after the phone call with the Turkish Minister. Russia has successfully produced two vaccines against coronavirus and in the process of introducing the third one. Turkey planned to adopt the first Russian vaccine which is the Sputnik V.
“The head of the Turkish health ministry expressed interest in organizing the production of the Sputnik V vaccine at Turkish pharmaceutical manufacturers’ facilities after toxicology studies have been carried out, as stipulated by local legislation,” the health ministry said in a statement with Reuters.
Mikhail Murashko, Russian Health Minister, assured that her Turkish colleague would test the vaccine closely.
Turkey’s health ministry has not officially assured the collaboration between two nations. However, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed that he talked with the Russian’s side about a plan to tackle widespread COVID-19.
“We exchanged views on issues in the health sector on which we are cooperating, namely the COVID-19 vaccine efforts, and international operations that we are part of,” Koca said.
Turkey has already registered roughly 400,000 patients of coronavirus. About 11,000 Turkish patients has died because of the virus since March. In June, the nation decided that they would only provide numbers about symptomatic patients. The action unwantedly hid the true danger of the coronavirus on the nation.
Sputnik V will be produced as the weapon to tackle COVID-19 in Turkey. Nevertheless, the vaccine has not been through the final trials yet. World Health Organization, WHO, is afraid of the efficiency of Sputnik V. Besides Turkey, other nations such as Vietnam has collaborated with Russia and learn about the science behind Sputnik V.
via AP
